Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Medical Marijuana and Guns in Rhode Island

The Providence reports on a case which is being closely watched by Robert Farago. Let's face it, we're all getting older, we're all going to need that medical marijuana sooner or later. Will we have to give up our guns?

A recent Cranston case that tested the state’s medical-marijuana law raises a question about whether people with the right to grow or possess marijuana to treat illnesses risk being jailed for owning a gun, even if they own it lawfully.

The issue grew from Dean Derobbio’s arrest in January 2010 for allegedly conspiring with his roommate to possess marijuana with the intent to sell it. He was also charged with carrying a dangerous weapon while committing a crime of violence. The crime of violence was growing marijuana, according to prosecutors and the police, and the charge carries a mandatory three years in prison for a defendant convicted of a first offense.

The police charged Derobbio’s roommate, Joseph Joubert, with conspiracy and possessing marijuana with the intent to deliver.

Derobbio held a patient card issued by the state Department of Health to use marijuana to treat severe pain caused by ruptured disks in his back, and he legally owned a 9mm pistol he kept in his nightstand, according to his lawyer, Michael F. Campopiano. Joubert had a primary-caregiver card, allowing him under the state’s medical-marijuana act passed by lawmakers in 2006 to grow marijuana for Derobbio.

What do you think? Does Derobbio sound like a back trauma patient or a pot dealer? Does it matter? What should be the rule about this? Wouldn't it increase the risk of mistakes for gun owners to take mood-altering drugs?